The Command Most Muslims Neglect - Sheikh Azhar Nasser - Night 26

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[0:07]Dear brothers, dear sisters, on behalf of the Muslim Youth Connection, I

[0:13]sincerely welcome you all to these final nights of this holy month.

[0:21]Inshallah, just a few announcements before we begin tonight's program.

[0:25]Firstly, I would like to remind for Arabic speakers, inshallah, there will

[0:28]be an Arabic program held simultaneously in the hall down uh hall

[0:35]to the side over there, inshallah.

[0:36]And uh if you're interested in that, please see one of the

[0:39]volunteers and they can help you get there.

[0:41]Also, I'd like to remind that all to all parents, inshallah, we'll

[0:46]have a children's program taking place in our school downstairs, which is

[0:50]for ages 5 and 10, respectively.

[0:52]And if you're interested, please see a fellow volunteer and they can

[0:57]take you there and escort you there, inshallah.

[0:59]We also remind parents that we ask that you do not drop

[1:03]off your children unsupervised and if so, we will have to arrange

[1:05]a pickup.

[1:06]So, we kindly ask that when dropping them off that you leave

[1:09]them with a guardian.

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[1:26]our latest announcements and events and live streams.

[1:32]Additionally, we also have a greater IIA WhatsApp group chat which covers

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[1:47]We are also very excited to announce our movement into the new

[1:51]mosque.

[1:52]But with this comes with some help.

[1:54]We are looking for a few we have a few job postings

[1:56]available for the new IIA.

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[2:02]and submit your resume.

[2:02]We'll give people a few seconds for that.

[2:11]Also, what better way to heighten this experience than by grabbing a

[2:17]drink?

[2:18]The My Cafe, which is located down the hall to the right,

[2:21]is offering drinks throughout the month of Shah Ramadan, as well as

[2:24]tonight's program.

[2:26]I invite you guys to go grab a drink and sit back

[2:30]and relax and watch the lecture.

[2:31]And feel free to bring your drink inside, but please take care

[2:34]of it with caution and care.

[2:45]The NYC is also excited to announce that we'll be holding our

[2:50]first ever 313 bazaar which will coincide on Sunday, March 31st from

[2:54]12:00 p.m.

[2:56]to 5:00 p.m.

[2:55]at the new IIA mosque banquet hall.

[2:59]This is a great time and experience for business owners and local

[3:03]craftsmen to show off their work.

[3:04]If you're interested or know someone that would be interested in participating,

[3:08]please scan the QR code above and fill in the respective information.

[3:13]And we're currently accepting up to 60 vendors, so spots are limited,

[3:17]so sign up as soon as you can.

[3:21]We're also excited to announce that our upcoming NYC retreat, summer retreat

[3:27]in 2026, registration is officially open.

[3:28]We have a seller lineup and we ask that if you're interested

[3:33]to scan the QR code, inshallah, we'll give you a couple of

[3:35]minutes to do that or a couple of seconds to do that.

[3:44]And how could we continue supporting these events if it wasn't for

[3:48]our fellow businesses who have sponsored during this holy month?

[3:52]We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to fill their businesses and bless

[3:55]it with continued success, growth, and generosity.

[3:58]And may Allah subhana wa ta'ala reward you many times over.

[4:04]Furthermore, tonight's program is sponsored on behalf of the above.

[4:10]Will you please ask that you recite fat after allowed Muhammad on

[4:15]their behalf?

[4:29]As we know with the events going on around the world, many

[4:33]of us want to help and spread the message of truth.

[4:35]And Allah subhana wa ta says in the Quran, indeed the believers

[4:43]are those who believe in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his prophets.

[4:48]And then they don't they seek no doubt in this and they

[4:56]strive in their way of the their wealth and their lives in

[5:00]the sake of Allah subhana wa tala.

[5:01]Indeed they are the truthful.

[5:04]Brothers and sisters while we may be miles away we can support

[5:07]the cause of truth through our wealth.

[5:09]By sponsoring events like these you can propagate the message of truth.

[5:13]We know we live in an age of falsehood and misinformation and

[5:17]Allah subhana wa ta'ala will ask us how did we combat how

[5:19]did we play our role in combating this misinformation and we can

[5:22]do that here by helping our programs continue helping programs like these

[5:28]to continue to spread across millions whether it be online or whether

[5:31]it be in person but we're not able to do this without

[5:33]the help of our community so I reach out to to four

[5:38]four donors that can help sponsor tonight's program for $250.

[5:42]$50.

[5:43]Inshallah, raise your hand and we'll have a volunteer uh assist you

[5:47]with that matter.

[5:51]A brother right here.

[6:00]>> Three more inshallah for the sake of Allah subhana wa ta'ala

[6:06]and for the spreading of the truth.

[6:12]Muhammad Ali Muhammad >> I remind you if you're interested in donating

[6:19]after the event you can see one of the members inside the

[6:23]office and they can further assist you with that matter.

[6:25]Tonight speak tonight's speaker is the honorable sheh who has lectured across

[6:30]the world and has continue to enlighten many youth and continue to

[6:34]spread the message of truth in Islam.

[6:36]I'm honored to welcome him and please help me welcome him to

[6:41]the podium with three loud salawhammed.

[7:13]Muhammad Ali Muhammad.

[7:27]Alhamdulillah.

[7:48]Respected elders, my dear brothers and sisters, continuing our discussion on the

[8:17]atomic habits.

[8:18]of a Muslim.

[8:22]What I want to discuss tonight is what I consider to be

[8:28]one of the most neglected obligations.

[8:33]An obligation that many of us treat as something that is just

[8:39]recommended or encouraged.

[8:41]When you look at the Quran, when you look at the the

[8:49]traditions of B, you will be hardpressed to find anything that is

[8:56]more emphasized than the seeking of knowledge.

[9:01]There's a hadith that many of us have memorized, we're familiar with,

[9:07]but we might not appreciate the implications of this hadith.

[9:11]What is the hadith?

[9:15]It's the famous narration from the prophet where he says that seeking

[9:27]knowledge is a it is a religious obligation upon every believing man

[9:37]and every believing woman.

[9:40]There are many people who misunderstand what the prophet is telling us

[9:48]to do.

[9:47]Sometimes we read this hadith and we say, "Alhamdulillah, I'm a university

[9:52]student and therefore I have fulfilled the prophetic commandment to seek knowledge.

[9:59]I'm pursuing my master's degree.

[10:04]I'm an educated person.

[10:06]I go to school, I get good grades and hence I embody

[10:13]this hadith where the prophet says seeking knowledge is a religious duty

[10:19]upon every believing man and woman.

[10:23]That's not what the hadith means.

[10:27]The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasall is not speaking about secular education that

[10:35]gives you what you need to get a job.

[10:38]That's not the meaning of in this hadith.

[10:46]Why?

[10:44]Because this hadith is speaking about an obligation that is upon every

[10:53]single believer.

[10:54]The hadith is speaking about something that is it means that this

[11:05]is something that is obligatory on every single male or female.

[11:12]going to school and becoming a doctor for example.

[11:17]This is not an obligation upon every single believer.

[11:23]There are some professions, some branches of knowledge that we consider to

[11:30]be means that it's a communal obligation.

[11:35]For example, in society, we need female physicians.

[11:44]We need female physicians.

[11:48]Let's say that we're in a community where we need 100 female

[11:54]physicians to be able to provide medical care to women.

[11:59]It be it is an a communal obligation for us to fill

[12:07]in those 100 spaces those 100 professions.

[12:11]It's a communal obligation.

[12:12]Meaning what?

[12:14]That if we neglect and this doesn't look stable.

[12:29]Yeah, you should grab somebody for sure.

[12:37]For those of you who weren't here last night, this happened last

[12:43]night as well.

[12:43]>> Another Yeah, maybe.

[12:46]We don't know.

[12:46]Subhan Allah.

[12:48]So, and it's always when I speak about women's issues.

[12:53]Subhan Allah.

[12:57]Again, so when it comes to female physicians in a community, it's

[13:03]a communal obligation.

[13:05]Meaning that if we don't facilitate the education for 100 women to

[13:14]become physicians, we as a community, we all bear the sin.

[13:18]We've all fallen short.

[13:20]But if a hundred women rise to the occasion and they fill

[13:28]in that gap, that means the obligation is lifted from the rest.

[13:37]If some rise to the occasion and fill that societal gap, it's

[13:44]no longer an obligation for others to pursue.

[13:48]Here when the prophet says that seeking knowledge is an obligation upon

[13:57]each male and female.

[14:00]The prophet here is not speaking about communal obligations.

[14:04]He is speaking about a level of Islamic knowledge that is obligatory

[14:13]upon each Muslim man and woman to gain.

[14:20]Now when it comes to Islamic knowledge, there are those who study

[14:27]and they become experts.

[14:29]We call such individuals, jurists, those who specialize.

[14:36]Now, we know that it is not upon every single believing man

[14:41]and woman to become a mush.

[14:42]We know it's not waj, it's not a religious obligation for everyone

[14:50]to become an expert on Islam.

[14:52]That's just like with the example of female physicians.

[14:54]Let's say that in the world we need 5,000 mahids to serve

[15:01]our communities.

[15:02]That means once once you reach that critical number, it is no

[15:08]longer an obligation for others to pursue it.

[15:12]The need has been fulfilled.

[15:13]But there is a level of Islamic knowledge that is required for

[15:18]everybody.

[15:20]Even if someone doesn't want to be a specialist, what type of

[15:26]knowledge are we talking about?

[15:28]We're talking about the knowledge that you need as a Muslim to

[15:35]fulfill your religious duties and avoid the muharamat.

[15:41]You have to gain the Islamic knowledge that is relevant to your

[15:48]life that allows you to fulfill your obligations and refrain from what

[15:52]Allah has made forbidden.

[15:54]It is an individual obligation for you to know your one of

[16:04]is what?

[16:04]It is an individual obligation upon every mman every m to learn

[16:13]about the oneness of God to the extent that you know why

[16:21]he exists and you can at least formulate an argument because when

[16:26]it comes to you cannot just blindly follow you have to have

[16:32]conviction and therefore this means means that there is a level of

[16:39]Islamic knowledge that is as important and as obligatory as performing your

[16:47]salah.

[16:48]In the same way that salah is seeking that baseline knowledge that

[16:55]allows you to understand the proofs for God's existence that he's one

[17:01]that there's life after death.

[17:04]If I choose a random person from the audience now, I won't

[17:07]do it because I don't want to give you a heart attack,

[17:10]but if I were to randomly pick someone from the audience now,

[17:15]and tell them, prove to me using rational arguments that there is

[17:24]life after death.

[17:24]How many of us could do that?

[17:26]If I say to you, prove to me that God exists, using

[17:33]rational arguments.

[17:36]In fact, prove to me that there's only one God.

[17:39]Prove to me that the Quran is the word of God and

[17:44]it wasn't manufactured by a man who lived in 7th century Arabia.

[17:48]Prove it.

[17:49]Can you prove it?

[17:53]If the answer is no, that means you have neglected the obligation

[17:58]of seeking and acquiring that baseline of Islamic knowledge.

[18:04]That means you might meet Allah on the day of judgment and

[18:09]Allah will say that wait, you prayed, you fasted, but you neglected

[18:16]the most important obligation, which is to know who you're praying to.

[18:20]which is to know why you're even following this religion.

[18:24]Did you inherit your religion the way that you inherited your genetic

[18:31]code or did you actually understand?

[18:33]Did you follow this religion based on rational argumentation?

[18:40]This is what the prophet means when he says seeking knowledge is

[18:48]a religious obligation.

[18:50]When you stand for salah at a minimum you should know the

[18:57]of salah.

[18:57]You should know the rulings of prayer.

[19:00]When you go to perform woo you should know how to perform

[19:07]a wvoo that is valid.

[19:12]You should know what invalidates my woo.

[19:14]If I'm doing myul correctly, you know, sometimes when I go to

[19:19]the the washroom to do woo, especially if there are other people

[19:21]doing woo, I try to not look at their wulu because I'll

[19:27]get a heart attack if I see the way that they do

[19:32]woo because many times the woo is not correct.

[19:33]They're not doing it correctly.

[19:36]And if your woo is not correct, that means you're not in

[19:40]a state of and then if you do your salah, your salah

[19:44]is and sometimes you might see someone 30, 40, 50, 60 years

[19:55]old, you see you observe their woo, the woo is wrong and

[19:59]you have decades of salah that is B.

[20:02]Why?

[20:04]because we just didn't bother to ask.

[20:07]We didn't bother to learn.

[20:11]We didn't bother to devote a little bit of time to seeking

[20:15]knowledge.

[20:15]Why is it that we know everything but we don't know?

[20:20]Why is it that you're able to tell me the stats of

[20:25]your favorite soccer player, your favorite football player?

[20:27]You know everything about them, but you don't know what is and

[20:33]what is nes.

[20:34]you don't know how to perform your salah.

[20:37]And we shouldn't be embarrassed to ask.

[20:40]What's more embarrassing is to be willfully ignorant.

[20:45]That's more embarrassing.

[20:46]There's no shame in saying that I don't know.

[20:49]I need to check.

[20:50]I need to make sure that I'm doing these things properly.

[20:53]So my dear brothers and sisters, knowledge is very very important.

[20:58]In fact, when you look at the Quran, when you look at

[21:05]the knowledge is so important that Allah subhana wa ta'ala in the

[21:10]Quran in what does he say?

[21:20]Allah says we raise up those who believe.

[21:25]meaning that we elevate them in rank.

[21:31]Iman elevates you.

[21:34]It elevates your soul.

[21:36]But after iman, after you have faith, there is only one thing

[21:45]that distinguishes one m from another.

[21:47]After you become a mu, what is the main differentiator between It

[21:58]is knowledge that then distinguishes from each other.

[22:05]It's knowledge.

[22:05]Knowledge is the most important thing.

[22:08]In fact, if you look at the Quran, look at how Allah

[22:14]subhanahu wa ta'ala demonstrates the superiority of Adam over the angels.

[22:21]What makes Adam superior to the angels?

[22:26]Allah tells us Allah subhana wa ta'ala in Bakar he tells us

[22:40]that what makes Adam what separates Adam from other creatures is what?

[22:46]is his knowledge, his rational capacity, his ability to articulate, his ability

[22:55]to have conceptual understanding.

[22:59]This is what makes Adam unique.

[23:01]Even in classical, in logic, the human being is defined as what?

[23:11]That the human being is what?

[23:17]Is a rational animal.

[23:15]is a rational animal.

[23:20]We share certain characteristics with other animals, with other creatures.

[23:26]But what distinguishes us from other animals is what?

[23:34]Our rational capacity, our ability to to analyze.

[23:38]Allah subhana wa ta'ala he highlights that what makes insan unique is

[23:48]the intellect and therefore what allows us to develop our humanity is

[23:55]not to do the things that we share with other animals.

[23:59]What makes us unique is the intellect and what allows the intellect

[24:06]to develop its knowledge.

[24:07]You know, Subhan Allah.

[24:10]Even if you look at Allah's attributes, perhaps one of the most

[24:19]fundamental attributes of Allah is his knowledge.

[24:21]Allah has many attributes, but it seems that almost all of them,

[24:27]they go back to his knowledge.

[24:28]For example, Allah is ale.

[24:31]Allah is the merciful one.

[24:34]But even his mercy, it goes back to his knowledge.

[24:39]Because how can you show mercy to a creature unless you know

[24:47]the creature and you know what it needs and you know what

[24:52]its vulnerabilities are.

[24:51]So even his his based on what?

[24:56]It's based on his knowledge.

[24:57]Allah is alim Allah is the wise one.

[25:01]His wisdom is also based on his knowledge.

[25:05]It's dependent on his knowledge because his wisdom is dependent on his

[25:12]knowledge of the outcomes of things.

[25:14]It's dependent on his knowledge of the reality of things.

[25:20]Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala his mercy encompasses all things and his knowledge

[25:27]encompasses all things.

[25:28]There's a beautiful ayah in the Quran where Allah subhana wa ta'ala

[25:36]describes for us the the dua that angels make.

[25:39]You know, they're a blessing for us.

[25:43]Even though we don't see them, we're not able to interact with

[25:47]them.

[25:47]Allah subhana wa ta'ala one of the manifestations of his mercy is

[25:54]that these angels they regularly make dua for us.

[26:00]Allah subhana wa tala inah surah 40 ayia 70 he says there

[26:09]are different classes of angels.

[26:12]There are some angels that record deeds.

[26:14]There are some angels that count the raindrops.

[26:20]There are other angels that guard us from death.

[26:26]There are a group of angels that carry the throne of God.

[26:31]Of course, we're not talking about a physical throne that you and

[26:36]I are familiar with.

[26:37]Some of the a hadith that say they say that ar of

[26:44]Allah is a metaphor for his knowledge.

[26:45]These angels, they are carriers of divine knowledge.

[26:49]What do they do?

[26:53]The angels that carry the throne, and the angels that are are

[27:03]around the of Allah, you said, what do these angels do?

[27:10]They do.

[27:09]Inshallah maybe in the coming nights we'll expand on what is the

[27:17]meaning of of the of the angels they do but do you

[27:18]know what else they do in addition to Quran says the angels

[27:29]who are in that higher world who are the carriers of the

[27:36]throne they glorify Allah and what else do they do they seek

[27:40]forgiveness forgiveness for the believers.

[27:42]They continuously do for the the believers.

[27:47]And what do they say?

[27:51]They say, "Oh Allah, forgive the believers.

[27:59]Oh Lord, your mercy encompasses everything and your knowledge also encompasses everything.

[28:11]Knowledge is so important in the Islamic tradition that Allah introduces himself

[28:19]as a teacher.

[28:21]Alman, how many of you are familiar with surah alman?

[28:26]Alman Alman Allah introduces himself as the exceedingly merciful one.

[28:39]In fact, surah alman is basically a of the name of Allah

[28:45]Alman.

[28:46]Everything that comes after it are just different manifestations of divine mercy.

[28:52]The first manifestation of Allah's mercy is what?

[28:57]Is that he taught the Quran?

[29:04]You know, if you think about it, if Alman was written by

[29:13]a human being, it should have begun by saying what?

[29:18]The creation of the human being should have been mentioned before the

[29:24]teaching of the Quran.

[29:25]But it's as though Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is trying to convey

[29:32]to us that without knowledge, our existence would be in vain.

[29:39]Our creation would be useless if Allah first did not create for

[29:46]us the sources of knowledge.

[29:48]What gives us value is our knowledge.

[29:50]Our ability to understand our ability to understand our Lord, our origin,

[29:59]our destination, ourselves.

[30:03]Allah subhana wa ta'ala introduces himself as the teacher as the first

[30:11]teacher.

[30:12]Allah is the one who taught us how to articulate.

[30:16]Can you imagine?

[30:19]Think about it for a moment.

[30:21]All of the information that exists in the world today, it all

[30:24]comes from the ability of the human being to express themselves.

[30:30]Imagine we have all this knowledge but we can't express it.

[30:34]The ability to articulate and express it all goes back to that

[30:41]divine blessing.

[30:40]The ability to think rationally and articulate our thoughts.

[30:46]How many of you are familiar with you know the famous ayah

[30:55]right?

[30:54]Look at how beautifully Allah subhana wa ta'ala speaks about knowledge.

[30:59]The commandment is to do what?

[31:02]Read recite.

[31:06]But notice look at what the Quran does.

[31:09]Allah doesn't just tell us to read.

[31:14]He tells us what read in the name of your Lord who

[31:22]created.

[31:25]Meaning what?

[31:26]If the pursuit of knowledge is divorced from Allah, knowledge can become

[31:36]one of the most destructive things.

[31:39]If you take God out of the pursuit of knowledge, then knowledge

[31:45]can become weaponized.

[31:47]Knowledge can be used as a tool of exploitation.

[31:51]Knowledge can be used as a tool of oppression.

[31:54]I'll give you an example.

[31:56]If you look at the western world, if you look at the

[32:01]United States, you have many people who go to the best IV

[32:04]league schools.

[32:05]They go to Harvard, Princeton, MIT, they get the best training.

[32:11]Many of these people, not all of them, but many of them,

[32:16]what do they end up doing with the knowledge that they acquire?

[32:21]Do they cure cancer?

[32:25]Do they address world hunger?

[32:26]They tend to do what?

[32:30]They go and work for the Pentagon.

[32:30]They go and work for a defense contractor.

[32:33]Instead of developing medicine to cure ailments, they employ these intelligent people

[32:46]to build bombs and nuclear weapons.

[32:48]The knowledge becomes what?

[32:51]It becomes a tool of exploitation.

[32:54]Allah subhana wa ta said it 14 centuries ago.

[32:57]He said, "Read in the name of your Lord.

[33:02]Read and pursue knowledge with the right intention to appreciate the beauty

[33:11]of your creator to serve humanity.

[33:13]Read and pursue knowledge but do it with the right intention.

[33:17]Because if you divorce the sacred from knowledge, the knowledge will destroy

[33:25]you.

[33:26]the knowledge will be the end of human civilization.

[33:31]And we're living in this moment now.

[33:33]We're living in it now.

[33:34]Every day we wake up and we're waiting to see who's going

[33:39]to drop a nuclear bomb first.

[33:41]Imagine what a sick world we live in where you have people

[33:46]who have knowledge.

[33:46]But look at what's being used with this knowledge.

[33:54]Allah subhanana wa ta'ala has so much reverence for knowledge that he

[34:00]describes himself as the first teacher.

[34:04]Allah subhana wa ta'ala when he describes the mission statements of the

[34:09]great messengers and prophets he describes them as what?

[34:16]as teachers, prophets, messengers.

[34:18]In reality, they are teachers of humanity.

[34:24]In we recite this ayah.

[34:39]One of the duties of the prophet is to do what?

[34:43]is to teach them the book and to teach them wisdom is

[34:50]not like a university professor who just gives you the lesson and

[34:54]he doesn't care if you're going to implement it in your life.

[34:58]No, the prophet is not just there to impart knowledge.

[35:01]The prophet is there to teach you how this knowledge can transform

[35:08]you into a better human being.

[35:11]Prophets are teachers of humanity.

[35:14]And therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, knowledge has to be an

[35:21]integral part of our lives.

[35:23]There's a beautiful narration from >> Are you guys okay?

[35:39]Should I continue?

[35:39]You're okay.

[35:40]Recite a loud salawat.

[35:40]Please listen to this statement from he says he says verily knowledge

[36:03]is the life of the hearts.

[36:08]What a profound statement.

[36:12]You see, our physical hearts, there are ways that we can determine

[36:19]if our physical heart is still alive.

[36:22]We can measure the biological life of our hearts.

[36:24]How do you measure?

[36:25]How do you determine if your physical heart is still alive?

[36:29]If it's beating, if there's the right rhythm, if blood is being

[36:33]pumped through the body.

[36:35]There are ways to measure and to to know if the physical

[36:41]heart is alive.

[36:44]Here is saying that you have a spiritual heart which is more

[36:51]important than your physical heart because the spiritual heart you will take

[36:55]it with you after you die.

[36:59]Do you want to go to the with a dead heart or

[37:03]do you want to go to the with a living heart?

[37:07]How do you know if the heart is alive?

[37:09]The imam says knowledge.

[37:12]Spiritual knowledge.

[37:14]The knowledge that brings you closer to Allah.

[37:18]The knowledge that makes you a more refined and moral human being.

[37:24]This is the knowledge that gives life to your heart.

[37:34]Knowledge is the light that allows the eye of your spiritual heart

[37:44]to see clearly.

[37:45]It removes the blindness.

[37:49]The worst thing the worst thing is to have a blind heart.

[37:55]You know, Immad, he had a companion who was physically blind.

[38:02]He couldn't see.

[38:04]But this man who lost his physical eyes, he was deeply religious

[38:12]and spiritual.

[38:11]So much so that our imams, they used to call him Abu

[38:20]Basil.

[38:18]Even though he had lost his eyesight, the imams recognized that he

[38:25]had something more important than eyesight and that is insight.

[38:29]So they used to call him Abu Bas.

[38:34]So he says that knowledge is what gives life to the hearts.

[38:38]And then what does he say?

[38:43]knowledge.

[38:44]This knowledge of Allah, this Islamic knowledge, this spiritual knowledge, it is

[38:51]what empowers the body.

[38:53]It's amazing.

[38:55]This spiritual knowledge can compensate for the weakness of the body.

[39:01]What does this mean?

[39:05]I have seen with my own eyes.

[39:08]I've seen who are so old that they can barely walk.

[39:12]If you go for example, if you go to to some of

[39:18]our maraj they're overund years old seems that the the key to

[39:26]longevity is to go study in to become a scholar right over

[39:29]100 years old.

[39:31]One of our who doesn't teach anymore because of his healthi one

[39:38]of the great of there are pictures of him being escorted to

[39:47]his dar he used to teach in the he would be held

[39:54]by his sons some of his students because he could barely walk.

[39:58]You see someone like that and you think that he barely has

[40:03]any energy to walk.

[40:03]He should go back home and rest.

[40:06]But the moment they bring him to the meim and he sits

[40:13]on the pulpit to teach the one 2,000 students that he has,

[40:21]it's as if he comes to life.

[40:22]This old frail man who can barely walk.

[40:27]What is enlivening him?

[40:32]What is empowering him?

[40:33]It's the knowledge.

[40:34]You see how special, how sacred this knowledge is that even if

[40:42]you're frail, you become enlivened because this is a strength that has

[40:47]nothing to do with the body.

[40:48]This is a spiritual strength.

[40:51]So he says this knowledge it gives life to the to the

[40:59]soul.

[40:58]When you look at the we find that the prophet sallallahu alaihi

[41:03]look at what he says.

[41:04]He says the prophet he says the superiority of a scholar and

[41:19]each and every one of you you can be scholars.

[41:23]Don't think that these great that we revere they have some special

[41:30]genetic code.

[41:29]They just devoted themselves.

[41:33]They were ordinary people who devoted themselves who worked hard and they

[41:36]became extraordinary.

[41:37]You and I we can do that.

[41:41]Allah says the superiority of an of a scholar over an abid

[41:49]over a worshipper is what is 70 degrees.

[41:52]Anim is 70 degrees higher than a worshipper.

[42:00]And then what does the prophet say?

[42:04]Now you might say, you might think that, oh maybe these 70

[42:07]degrees are just, you know, there's not a lot of separation between

[42:12]each of these degrees.

[42:14]says, "The prophet says the distance between each of the degrees is

[42:26]the distance it would take a horse to ride for 70 years.

[42:35]It's a huge huge difference." And then the prophet explains why why

[42:44]is an a scholar so great in the eyes of Allah sometimes

[43:02]introduces innovations.

[43:04]He introduces things that can misguide people.

[43:08]And it is the scholar who perceives these innovations and blocks those

[43:18]innovations.

[43:19]Whereas what?

[43:22]Whereas the a worshshiper is just focused on his salah and his

[43:28]dua and is only focused on themselves.

[43:34]Anim is basically guarding he's guarding the borders of Islam from invasion

[43:44]from intellectual invasion.

[43:46]Therefore, the the scholar is the ultimate protector of the of the

[43:56]um now you might say but she I don't have the time

[44:01]to become a great I have a job I have a family

[44:06]I can't become I cannot become like I'm barely I'm barely making

[44:14]it with my five daily prayers I feel like I'm drowning.

[44:19]You know there's a beautiful hadith where they speak about the merits

[44:29]and the virtues of not the scholar but the one who is

[44:33]seeking knowledge.

[44:35]You see the thing about seeking knowledge the idea here is that

[44:40]when you seek something you might get it and you might not.

[44:44]What we see from the hadith is even if you don't become

[44:52]an if you're doing your best to seek knowledge Allah looks upon

[44:59]that favorably he says means death.

[45:10]If I were to ask you if death, if I told you

[45:18]that you're going to die in the next hour, you have one

[45:21]hour left.

[45:23]What do you think is the best thing to do with that

[45:29]hour?

[45:28]What should you do?

[45:30]Get baklawa and matcha one final time.

[45:32]What should you do?

[45:34]Pray.

[45:35]Right?

[45:35]Look at what says.

[45:39]He says, He says the person to whom death comes if death

[45:57]comes to you while you are seeking knowledge if melot comes to

[46:05]you and you're reading you're learning You're learning something that's going to

[46:10]bring you closer to Allah subhana wa tala says that if you

[46:18]die in that state then between you and the prophets is only

[46:22]one degree of separation.

[46:26]So in fact the best way to leave this world is what?

[46:29]There was once an alam he was reading he was preparing for

[46:36]his lesson and they asked him molana if this was the last

[46:38]hour of your life what would you do he said I would

[46:44]continue doing what I'm doing now which is seeking knowledge because knowledge

[46:50]is what gives life to the heart there is one thing that

[46:56]I want all of us to do something pract practical and this

[47:02]is based on not my recommendation what the prophet says.

[47:07]He says, "If anyone from my ummah memorizes 40 hadith, it's not

[47:24]hard.

[47:25]40 hadith memorizes one hadith a week.

[47:26]Whoever memorizes 40 hadith, a hadith that are going to make you

[47:34]a better person, that are going to purify you." What is the

[47:38]benefit of this?

[47:51]The prophet says if you memorize 40 hadith and memorize doesn't just

[47:58]mean that you store it in your brain.

[48:02]It means that you preserve it in your character.

[48:06]You become a walking reminder of those hadith.

[48:10]If you preserve memorize 40 hadith, Allah will raise you on the

[48:19]day of judgment as a scholar, as an this is why many

[48:25]of our what do they do?

[48:25]They write books called 40 hadith and they give commentaries.

[48:31]Why to implement this this narration?

[48:38]Now I know time is running out.

[48:44]I want to just end with with this last thing.

[48:46]How much time should I devote to knowledge?

[48:52]We don't have to guess because the prophet tells us.

[48:57]He actually tells us how much time every mman should devote to

[49:01]the pursuit of knowledge.

[49:04]Do you know what it is?

[49:05]The narration is is inoolah says the prophet says is an expression

[49:23]of frustration.

[49:23]The prophet is expressing his frustration over the person who does not

[49:30]dedicate one day out of the week to the pursuit of religious

[49:40]knowledge.

[49:38]One day, one day means you have one day out of the

[49:43]week where you fully devote it to.

[49:45]Now, let's say my schedule doesn't allow me to devote one full

[49:51]day.

[49:48]Okay, break it up during the week.

[49:51]Every day you should spend 30 minutes, an hour studying your religion,

[49:59]studying your faith.

[50:02]Coming to Ramadan lectures, coming to muharam lectures does not count as

[50:11]being a seeker of knowledge because by the time you get into

[50:14]your car, 80% of what I said, you're going to forget it.

[50:19]It's the reality.

[50:18]And when you get home 1% and next week, who was shear?

[50:23]We don't even remember him.

[50:24]You won't remember anything.

[50:26]What you need is what is structured methodical Islamic education.

[50:32]These malis, they're just motivation.

[50:35]Little bit of motivation.

[50:36]Give you a little bit of a spiritual boost so you can

[50:41]actually embark on the real work.

[50:42]The real work is not just to sit in the majus.

[50:47]The real work is what you do between Ramadan and what you

[50:50]do in between that's the real work.

[50:54]So one day a week an hour a day and we all

[50:59]have the time we shouldn't kid ourselves and say I'm busy.

[51:04]Everyone says they're busy but everyone's on Instagram everyone is on Tik

[51:08]Tok.

[51:09]If you guys are so busy why are you guys on those

[51:11]sites?

[51:11]That means you have time.

[51:13]We have to make it a priority and be innovative.

[51:16]Be creative.

[51:17]You have a very hectic life.

[51:22]During your commute, you commute 15, 20 minutes, 15, 20 minutes to

[51:26]work, 15, 20 minutes back.

[51:26]That's 40 minutes, 45 minutes.

[51:29]And if you're listening to someone who speaks a little slow, what

[51:34]do you do?

[51:36]You times to it, right?

[51:37]You can probably do times two with my voice.

[51:40]Sometimes I slow down.

[51:42]You know, one time I met a scholar who I've been listening

[51:45]to for many years, and for years I was listening to him

[51:52]on Times 2.

[51:52]When I met him in person, I thought there was something wrong

[51:59]with the sheh.

[51:59]Did he get into an accident and he had a head injury?

[52:03]Why is he speaking so slow?

[52:04]And then I remembered the times two.

[52:09]So you can actually cover a lot of material in in 40

[52:15]minutes.

[52:14]I'll end with this.

[52:16]Someone's phone is ringing.

[52:20]Please answer the phone.

[52:25]>> If it's your mother, you should answer it.

[52:27]Inshallah.

[52:28]We'll wait.

[52:29]We'll wait until the call is finished.

[52:31]Don't ever think that you're too old to start learning Islam.

[52:38]Sometimes we have these psychological barriers.

[52:40]You might not know how to read Arabic.

[52:44]You might need to study the basics and you're too embarrassed to

[52:49]sit with people who are younger than you.

[52:50]You might be too embarrassed to seek knowledge.

[52:53]You know brothers and sisters let me tell you a story that

[52:59]I heard about the the great the teacher of when he was

[53:05]in his 70s.

[53:07]This is a story that was relayed to me by some of

[53:10]the when he was in his maybe mid70s.

[53:15]He had someone at home, a servant who used to help him,

[53:21]fetch his books, bring tea for him.

[53:23]He was an elderly man.

[53:25]He needed help around the house.

[53:26]So one day he realized that this young man who brings tea

[53:37]for me and fetches my books from the library he's a half

[53:42]of the Quran.

[53:42]He had memorized the Quran.

[53:45]So the say is thinking to himself that if he has memorized

[53:53]the Quran, I'm the mer of the I should also memorize the

[53:59]Quran, make an effort to memorize the Quran.

[54:04]He was familiar with the Quran, studied the Quran, but didn't memorize

[54:08]it.

[54:09]He memorized portions of it, but he didn't have the entire Quran

[54:14]memorized.

[54:15]So do you know what he did at the age of 75?

[54:18]He started memorizing the Quran.

[54:22]He made an effort to start memorizing.

[54:26]So the point is don't say it's too late.

[54:29]It's not too late.

[54:32]As long as you're alive, as long as there's air in your

[54:35]lungs, Allah subhana wa ta'ala has given you given us an opportunity.

[54:41]So I pray my dear brothers and sisters that Allah subhana wa

[54:44]ta'ala gives us the to be students of knowledge and it's important

[54:51]that we don't just take our knowledge from anybody.

[54:54]We have to take our knowledge from credible.

[55:00]The problem is that some of us were not even able to

[55:04]distinguish who's a scholar and who's not a scholar.

[55:07]Being an eloquent speaker does not mean you're a scholar.

[55:13]There's a big difference between charisma and deep religious knowledge.

[55:19]And we have to break this habit of only attending lectures where

[55:28]the speaker is charismatic.

[55:31]Some of us it's as if we're trying to pick out a

[55:38]movie on Netflix that I want someone to entertain me.

[55:41]The mimb is not for religious entertainment.

[55:44]This is a mimb that's about knowledge.

[55:49]It's about so we have to have the patience and the maturity

[55:53]to say that this person has knowledge.

[55:56]Yes, they might not be the best speaker.

[55:59]They might not be charismatic, but let me have the maturity to

[56:04]sit and wait for this person to give me the gems that

[56:13]I need.

[56:11]Imam, what does he say?

[56:17]There is no true knowledge that can be taken except from a

[56:22]godly scholar.

[56:24]It's not just about knowledge.

[56:27]It's about someone who has knowledge and has tawa.

[56:29]Do not follow people who promote themselves.

[56:32]Take knowledge from people who are endorsed by respected individuals who have

[56:43]who have tawa.

[56:42]Quran says what?

[56:47]Allah says let the human being consider their food.

[56:51]Im B he says the hidden the esoteric meaning is what that

[56:58]let the human being examine the food that they're given to their

[57:03]souls in the same way that you're careful about what you put

[57:08]in your body be careful about what you put in your mind

[57:10]be careful of what you consume because everything that you hear has

[57:17]an effect on your soul we ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to

[57:19]bless us and guide us and illuminate our hearts with the teachings

[57:22]of Muhammad Ali Muhammad.

[57:25]Alhamdulillah.

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